


Ghoul & Human

by HoorEnglish



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Dates, Just something I wrote for fun tbh, M/M, cuteness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-21 08:29:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14911973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoorEnglish/pseuds/HoorEnglish
Summary: Hide gets a match on his dating app and goes on some dates.





	1. First Meetings & Squirrels

Hide didn’t think he would ever reach the point in his life where he would worry about the color tie he should wear yet...here he was.

He had recently gotten a match with someone on a ghoul-human dating app. He had a few matches with other humans but they never usually went past the first date and the ghouls he matched with were scared off or wary about the fact that he worked for the CCG. Those definitely went nowhere. But then he got matched to someone with the strangest name. 

_Kaneggy_. 

It was strange, sure, but Hide’s was just as silly. _Bunshine._ Yoriko was the one who set up the account for him after all so he didn’t know why he expected otherwise. The two talked for a bit and the real interest began when the ghoul didn’t leave when Hide mentioned he worked for the CCG. The two of them got along pretty well for a first interaction and, next thing Hide knew, they were planning a date for Friday. 

And now here he was, conflicted over which color tie he should wear. He eventually decided to ask three other co-workers of his. Akira said to wear the green one, Amon said that it didn’t matter, and Seidou said to just not wear anything at all. It was safe to say that only one option out of the bunch was an actual helpful opinion. So he decided on the dark green one with a white little bunny on the end. It was a Christmas present from Yoriko. 

Hide went on to base his entire outfit around it. He didn’t want to come off as trying too hard but he also didn’t want to come off as if he didn’t care so he went for, as what Kimi would call, fancy casual. 

He wore a green suit jacket over a simple white shirt, blue jeans and normal white sneakers. To complete the outfit, Hide put the tie around his neck so that it could hang loosely around his neck. Hide looked at himself in the mirror, pulling at the tips of his hair which had gotten longer due to neglect of cutting his hair. Should he have cut it beforehand? First impressions were everything, after all. 

The blonde took a deep breath. No time to worry about it now. Looking at the time on his phone, he saw that it was 8:40 PM. They were going to meet at a nearby park just to walk around and hang out at 9. “You can do this.” Hide said to himself in the mirror before he turned around and left the cheap apartment that he lived in with Kimi. He made sure to leave the spare key under the mat just in case Kimi came back before him.

 

* * *

 

The park wasn’t too far away but Hide took his bike with him just so he didn’t risk the possibility of being late. They were going to meet by the fountain in the center of the park. After making sure his bike was safe and secured in one of the bike lock spots, he went to the fountain area and sat down on one of the benches. He looked at the time. 

8:50. He was early.

Hide looked around and saw someone not too far away from him also sitting on one of the benches that surrounded the fountain. He wore a wool vest and held a single rose in his hand. ' _What a nerd'_   was Hide’s first thought but Hide himself probably looked like a nerd because he probably didn’t exactly look like someone who was ready for a first date. The more Hide thought about it, the more Hide thought he looked more along the lines of a classy hobo.

The other guy made eye contact with Hide then and his eyes widened a bit. Hide caught his breath and then looked down at his phone. He hoped he didn’t catch him staring. 

A few second later he heard footsteps approaching him. Looking up, he saw it was the same guy. Getting a closer look at him, Hide could see the fluffy white hair and grey eyes (one of which was covered by an eyepatch) that he had along with his pale complexion that was extremely noticeable in the park lights. The guy’s lips parted and he then asked a single question.

“Bunshine?”

Oh. _Oh._

“Kan...eggy?”

“Mm.”

Hide stood up. He didn’t expect Kaneggy to look like he did but Hide really didn’t know what he was expecting. While Hide used his own picture on his profile, Kaneggy used a cartoon egg. That should have been his first warning sign that he was probably a total dork, really.

“I guess we both come early, huh.” Hide said with a small smile. 

“Yeah. I just...I was nervous about being late.” 

“Me too.” 

They stood there for a few more seconds, an awkward silence coming between them. Hide was usually talkative during his dates but he just couldn’t explain his awkwardness here. Kaneggy was the one to break the silence by shoving a rose in his face. “This is for you. I-I hope you’re not allergic.”

“No no, I’m not! Thank you.” Hide accepted the rose, silently wishing that he got the other something as well. “And, uh, you can call me Hide. Well, my name is Nagachika Hideyoshi but people just call me Hide.” That introduction could have  gone better on his end, honestly.

“Kaneki Ken. But Kaneki is fine.”

Hide gave a relieved sigh. “That’s relieving. I really thought your name was Kaneggy for a second.” He joked lightly. Kaneki chuckled a bit. 

“Imagine how I feel. Hide sounds way better than Bunshine.” 

They both began to laugh. And just like that the awkward air between them was cleared. 

“Do you want to walk around a bit now?” Kaneki asked, offering his hand for Hide to hold onto. Hide accepted it. 

“Yeah.” 

 

* * *

 

They found themselves near one of the duck ponds in the park, talking and cracking small jokes here and there. Hide didn’t know when but he found himself holding onto Kaneki’s arm instead of his hand. Turns out Kaneki was a lot more muscly than he seemed. 

“I know this sounds like a cliche line but...do you work out?” 

“Sort of.” Kaneki smiled. “I just have trained a lot. It’s a tough world out here for a ghoul so you have to be ready for fights. Especially relating to certain wards.”

Oh right. Hide had really forgotten about Kaneki being a ghoul. 

“Yeah, that makes sense. Though, unfortunately, pushing a mail basket doesn’t exactly help me form any muscle.” Hide had mentioned during their texted conversations about having started off as a delivery boy. His current position in the CCG now didn’t seem all that different either. He was usually stuck behind his desk with Seidou while Akira and Amon went out and had the real fun. Only on occasions did Marude actually invite him to coffee. 

“Being a delivery boy must’ve had some perks. You got to read any spicy love notes that were being passed around, didn’t you?”

“No. No spicy love note readings. But I do remember seeing a package that was labeled “Special Toys”. Makes me wonder what exactly people are doing in the CCG.”

Kaneki raised an eyebrow. “Are you not curious about what the special toys could be?”

“I’d rather not.” Hide grinned. “Especially since it started vibrating once I bumped the carrier cart the wrong way.”

Kaneki made a face and Hide couldn’t help but laugh. All was good, as Kaneki began laughing too. Hide rested his head against Kaneki’s for a second, both of them not too far away from each other in height. “Hey, so, what do you do? Work wise, anyways.” Hide asked. There were many questions just bouncing around in his head. It was one of the things he sometimes hated about first dates. Especially blind first dates.  

“I work at a cafe.” Kaneki replied. Hide blinked. 

“Really?”

“Yeah. I guess it can be seen as unexpected but I just want to blend in. Be normal again.”

Again? Hide looked away for a second. It was a simple word but it made Hide think what he meant by that. He didn’t realize that he hadn’t replied in a while and was only alerted by Kaneki suddenly speaking up again. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin the mood.”

“No, it’s fine! You didn't ruin the mood at all. I can understand why you’d want to do that.” Hide replied quickly. “I’m sorry for not replying. I just got distracted because my mind tends to wander.”

“Ah. It’s okay. That usually just means you’re really smart.” Kaneki said sweetly. Hide couldn’t help but smile. 

“Flattery gets you everywhere. Especially with me.” Hide joked lightly.

“I hope so.”

There was a pause. Hide raised an eyebrow at the implications. Kaneki seemed to realize what Hide seemed to be thinking and visibly blushed. “W-Wait I didn’t mean anything like—you know…” Kaneki stuttered. 

“I know, I know. I just have a dirty mind. Must be the special toy thoughts again.” 

Kaneki’s cheeks seemed to calm down in color after that. 

“Hey,” Hide spoke again. “I noticed there’s a feeding box near the pod. We can get one of those small cans of worms they sell to feed the ducks. I’ll pay. Something to return for the rose you got me.” 

Kaneki gave a small nod. “Sounds like a good idea.”

 

* * *

 

They sat near the small pond for who knows how long, leaned against each other on the bench and feeding the few ducks who were still awake and waddled over to them for food. Hide didn’t know what time it was and went to check his phone and paused when he felt that they weren’t in either of his pockets. “Fuck…” Hide groaned. 

Kaneki looked at him from the corner of his eye, still leaned over feeding one of the ducks that approached. “What is it?”

“I think my phone fell out my pocket. I’ll be right back. I need to go look for it.” Hide went to stand up but Kaneki grabbed his hand to stop him. 

“I’ll do it.” Kaneki said, turning Hide’s hand over to give him the rest of the worms that he had. “Stay here.” Kaneki then got up and started running back down the path that they had walked down. Hide watched him go before looking down at the duck who was waiting for more worms. 

“Sorry. Here you go, little guy.” He said, giving him another worm. The duck quacked happily in response. 

Hide sat there for a while, waiting for Kaneki to come back. The ducks eventually went back to their places in the pond so that was Hide’s cue to go looking for Kaneki. Just when he was getting ready to stand up, he heard Kaneki approaching. 

“I found it!” 

Hide couldn’t help but focus on Kaneki’s approaching figure.

There were leaves and sticks in his hair and attached to his outfit, the white shirt underneath torn in certain areas with bits of blood on the edges. There was mud on his cheeks and pants. 

“Here you go.” Kaneki said, handing Hide his phone. Hide took it and stuffed it deep into his pocket just in case it wanted to fall out again. Afterwards, he turned his attention back to Kaneki.

“What happened to you?” Hide asked. A part of him wanted to laugh at how silly Kaneki looked, his hair sticking up more than usual. But the small amounts of blood had him worried. “You’re bleeding. Do you need bandages?”

“I can heal by myself. Don’t worry.” Kaneki said, dusting off his vest to get rid of the few clinging leaves. “And, well...would you really believe me if I said I got bested by a squirrel?” Hide covered his mouth, trying his best not to laugh at that statement. 

“What?”

“Yeah! Well, you see...I had found it in the middle of the sidewalk and went to go get it but a squirrel came out of nowhere and took it. Long story short, I chased it up a tree--”

“ _What_?”

“And once I got up there, it was going to drop it but I dived after your phone so it wouldn’t crack before it hit the ground. I landed in a bush though so I’m fine.”

Hide sighed, allowing himself a small chuckle. “You could have broken something…” 

Kaneki shrugged. “I’ve been through worse.” 

Well that was probably true. Ghouls did have it a lot harder than humans but they also were quite good at handling blows. He didn’t know for sure but Kaneki probably has been bitten, stabbed, chased down and many other things that probably paled in comparison to falling out of a tree or maybe a small bone break. Hide took out his phone to check the time once more. It was almost ten. He really needed to get back home if he wanted to actually be able to wake up in the morning. Still, he didn’t want to really leave Kaneki. Especially since he quite literally jumped out of a tree just for Hide’s outdated phone.

“Oh. Do you have to go?” Kaneki asked. Hide nodded sadly. 

“I can walk you home then.” Kaneki had such a sweet smile on his face, offering his arm to him this time. Hide found himself smiling. He knew that he would have ended up holding onto Kaneki’s arm anyways. He was glad that Kaneki was okay with it. 

Hide took his arm and they began walking in a comfortable silence. Once they arrived at Hide’s apartment, he finally let go of Kaneki’s arm so they could face each other.

“Thank you for tonight.” Kaneki bowed to him. “I had fun.”

Hide returned the bow. “I had fun too.”

They stood there for a bit, just looking at each other and smiling. Hide was sure they probably looked like a couple of dorks from an outside view but he couldn’t help but focus his attention on Kaneki. Hide reached up and plucked a stray piece of leaf from Kaneki’s hair which caused them to both laugh. 

“I still do owe you, Kaneki. Maybe...a second date?”

Kaneki’s eyes widened before he let out a breathless laugh. “Thank you. I’m so...happy.”

Hide reached for Kaneki’s hand before placing the leaf in his hand. “Don’t forget to text me, okay? So we can come up with another date...date.” Hide shook his head. “Sorry. That came out really--”

“It happens to me all the time.” Kaneki scratched his head. “I know what you mean though. And I will.”

Hide nodded slowly before he turned to start going up the stairs of his apartment but stopped. He turned back to Kaneki who was still looking at him. Hide took a deep breath before he went down the small amount of steps he climbed and gave Kaneki a quick peck on the cheek. “Bye.” Hide said before he ran up the stairs and into his apartment. 

Once the door was closed, Hide pressed his back against the door trying to catch his breath. 


	2. Kiss & Karaoke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A second date!

“...chika. Nagachika!”

Hide hurriedly looked up from his phone at Seidou. “Huh, what?” 

Seidou leaned over from his side of the desk trying to take a peak at what Hide was typing which caused the blond to quickly put the phone close to his chest. “What are you doing?”

“Well, whoever you’re texting is obviously more important than the crisis I’m going through.” Seidou flopped back onto his chair, hurriedly holding onto the desk when he felt his chair lean back a little to far. Hide chuckled.

“Dude. Your crisis is really dumb though. Just don’t overthink it. If Akira meant to ask you out for dinner in a date sort of way then she meant it in a date sort of way. You’ll find out by the end of the night if she kisses you or not.” Hide answered. 

“Pfft.” Seidou flicked a rubber band up in the air and caught it, a victorious smile on his face. “Everyone knows no one does any sort of kissing on the first date.”

Hide felt his heart drop for a second. “Wait, what? Really? Like, forreal?” 

“Yeah. It’s basic date etiquette.” Seidou shot another rubber band up into the air.

Hide sunk down deep into the seat he sat in, hiding his face with his phone. Was that why Kaneki wasn’t answering his messages at the moment? 

“Seidou, quit scaring him.”

They both paused when Akira made her presence known, a small cup of water in her hands from the nearby water dispenser. Amon wasn’t too far behind from her, sweat covering one of his King training shirts. Hide could only assume that he just came back from training. 

“I assume your date went well, Nagachika.” Amon said, accepting the cup of water from Akira and downing it in one gulp. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?” 

Hide chuckled lightly. Amon was always like a second dad to him. Well, a second second dad. His first second dad was Marude, even if the man was, well, him. “No, not at all. If anything he was the one who got hurt.”

“Ooo, Nagachika. Kissing _and_  telling?” Seidou leaned forward on his desk a bit, only falling back when Akira went behind him and pulled him back herself. 

“Quit it, you.” She scolded him lightly. “Did you have fun, at least?”

“Yeah.” Hide looked down at his phone for a second, running his hand over the lightest scratch that must’ve appeared when Kaneki fell in a bush for it. “He dived in a bush for my phone of all things so he’s nice. You have nothing to worry about _mom and dad_.” Akira and Amon both rolled their eyes at him. 

“Well, Nagachika, if you like him then you have every right to kiss him if he was okay with it. Don’t listen to Seidou, though. He’s not experienced enough to know what he’s talking about.” Akira said in what Hide could only describe as her “comforting mother voice”.

Hide relaxed in the chair a bit, listening to Seidou continuously asking what she meant by that and Akira and Amon laughing at him. He looked down at his phone when he felt it vibrate in his hand. 

<<  _Kaneggy: Sorry. The manager doesn’t like it when I’m on my phone too much._ >>

<<  _Kaneggy: You’re a very good distraction._ >>

<<  _Kaneggy: :)_ >>

Hide chuckled. 

<<  _Bunshine: ;)_ >>

 

* * *

 

“Where are we headed to?”

“You’ll see.”

“Kanekiiii.”

“Just a little longer. I promise.”

It was a Saturday night this time on their second date and Kaneki was taking him to the unknown. He didn’t know why he trusted Kaneki so much. Many would think that it was a trap, especially since Kaneki was the “big bad ghoul” and Hide was the “poor defenseless human”. Still, Hide held Kaneki’s hand with a smile on his face. 

They ended up at a cafe. From what he could see from the glass windows, it looked very warm and home-like. When they got to the front door, a girl with fluffy blue hair stood there looking irritated. Kaneki greeted her with a smile and she (her name was apparently Touka) shoved something into his chest which he holds onto with his only free hand. 

“Don’t fuck up the place. You break anything, you pay for it.” She said, giving him a quick punch on the arm before she walked past them. Hide looked at Kaneki, blinking in confusion but Kaneki just waved it away. 

“That’s my co-worker. She’s always like that.” Kaneki explained. 

“Ah, so we’re…” Hide trailed off. So this was where Kaneki worked? Walking inside, Hide could see that Kaneki was definitely the type to blend in nicely with the place. “Did you really rent out the entire place for us?” 

“Well you could say rent…” Kaneki looked away for a second. “But it’s more like I sacrificed my free time to cover Touka’s shifts for a month if I was allowed to use the place for us for an hour or two.” 

“Whaaat? Kaneki, you didn’t need to do that! I don’t want you to overwork yourself or anything just for a date.” Kaneki was pretty pale from what Hide could see. He probably handled so much. He wasn’t sure what exactly ghouls went through but he read that they were quite territorial in one of the pamphlets the CCG gave him. It was required reading when dealing with ghoul gangs. 

It made him wonder if Kaneki had to deal with hostile ghouls on a day to day basis. It also made him wonder what was his rank as a ghoul. He heard from his friend Kimi that if you ended up entering an official relationship with a ghoul on the app that they’d ask what their rank was before they’d erase both accounts since there wouldn’t really need to be a reason for the account if you were already dating. 

Hide didn’t realize that he was just staring at Kaneki until the other looked at him with flushed cheeks. “W-What? Really, Hide, you don’t need to worry. I’ll be fine.” 

Hide blushed himself, embarrassed that he was caught staring. Still, he could just play it off as him being worried instead of him worrying if Kaneki was a super dangerous ghoul or not. It seemed, during his staring session, that Kaneki lead him over one of the tables in the cafe. Hide sat down in one of the chairs while Kaneki stayed standing. 

“Welcome to :Re. May I take your order?” Kaneki said with a bow. Hide laughed and rested his head on his hands. 

“Mmm, sure. Is my cute waiter on the menu?” Hide said with a wink. 

Kaneki raised an eyebrow. “Is that a reference to me being a ghoul?”

Hide blinked. Ah, it could be. “That was actually unintentional.” Hide scratched his cheek. “But I guess I’m a natural joke machine. You’re a lucky guy, Kaneki Ken.” 

“I guess I am.” Kaneki smiled. “But, really, what can I get you?” 

Hide looked at the small menu that was on the table and looked it over quickly. He closed his eyes before dramatically turning to Kaneki. “Surprise me.”

“Alright then. Any allergies I should know about?”

Hide shook his head in response. 

“I’ll be back soon then. Feel free to...look around? We...don’t have a lot of entertainment here.” 

Hide watched Kaneki leave and go into what he could only assume was the kitchen area to make his surprise meal. The blond rested his head against the table, lazily reaching for a packet of sugar to play with. He’s was in the middle of drawing a face in the sugar when his phone begins to vibrate in his back pocket. After pulling it out and unlocking it, he couldn’t help but smile at the pictures that Seidou was spamming him to show how his date with Akira was going. Half of them were blurry but he could tell that they were having a good time. 

“Here I come!” 

Hide perked up when he heard Kaneki’s voice. The white haired man walked slowly in the room carrying a plate on his arm and two cups of something in his hands. Once he was close enough, Hide took hold of the tiny plate on his arm and set it in front of him on the table. 

It was a sandwich. A warm one, actually, with some chips on the side. It also seemed he got a latte and it had some art in it. Hide smiled warmly at what it was. It was a heart which had Bunshine written inside of it. It was cheesy but it was also so romantic that Hide had to force himself to ignore the butterflies in his stomach. “It looks really nice, Kaneki. All of it!” Hide leaned over it to get a closer look at it before he took out his phone to take a picture, sending it to Seidou. 

He looked at Kaneki and it seemed that it was his turn to stare at Hide. The blond felt his cheeks heating up, looking away to avoid Kaneki’s warm grey eyes. 

“I hope you’ll enjoy it, Hide.” Kaneki finally said. “I can’t taste it myself so...y’know…” 

Hide took a sip of the latte. It was sweet in flavor but tasted quite good overall. Or that was his own taste buds being biased simply for knowing that Kaneki was the one that made it. Hide took two crisp chips and put them only halfway in his mouth so they looked like a duck beak. He let out a small quack which made Kaneki laugh. Mission accomplished. 

Once Hide put them in his mouth and ate him, he and Kaneki fell into casual conversation. He listen to Kaneki talk about how his day was, finding himself almost hypnotized by the way he talked so passionately about his co-workers and the stories that happened in the cafe. Hide didn’t know why he never really thought about it but Kaneki was really nice looking. Almost ethereal in a way. The white hair, the kind eyes, the cute laugh. He was still a nerd, of course. Hide stuck by that. But he was a very good looking nerd. 

“...and then _finally_  Banjou was able to serve the old lady.” Kaneki said breathlessly, his cheeks flushed a bit before leaning forward in interest. “So, how was your day?”

Hide blinked in surprise. He really didn’t catch most of what he said. Scratching his cheek, Hide couldn’t help but feel guilty about it. He’d ask him to repeat his story but Hide didn’t want to come off as someone who didn’t listen. Being a good listener was one of his best traits, after all. So, he began listing off the most interesting parts of his day. Target practice with Marude, lunch with Amon (a true rarity), file sorting with Akira and his talking with Seidou. 

“Haha. He actually had me nervous for a while,” Hide rubbed the back of his neck. “He said that I shouldn’t have kissed you on the cheek last night.” Hide paused at the memory, blushing. It seemed he wasn’t the only one who seemed to be flustered at the thought as Kaneki seemed to look away in embarrassment. To avoid saying anymore, Hide shoved most of the sandwich in his mouth to delay possibly saying anything else. 

“I did have fun last night, Hide. Really. It was very nice...like you, of course.” Kaneki said, looking to him. Hide swallowed and smiled sheepishly. 

They continued to talk, Hide nibbling on the food he was given every time Kaneki talked and Kaneki taking sips of his coffee every time Hide replied to parts of Kaneki’s sentences with his own stories to tell. 

When the dishes were devoid of food and drink, Kaneki stood up. “I’ll get rid of these.” He said, once again balancing the small plate on his arm while carrying the cups. Hide, noticing how the plate was starting to slowly slide to the left, tried to warn Kaneki but it ended up falling to the ground with a loud crash. 

Kaneki silently swore and set the two cups on the nearest table to start picking up the pieces of the plate. Hide went over to him and began helping him pick up the pieces. 

“You don’t have to help, Hide. You might get hurt.”

“Don’t worry about it, ‘neki. I get paper cuts every day of the week. This’ll be nothing.”

They continued to pick up the pieces in silence. With only a few more pieces left, they both ended up reaching for the same one. Their fingers touch and they both laugh awkwardly, apologizing. Hide finishes picking up the last piece before he felt Kaneki’s eyes on him. Hide looked back at him, slightly confused. “What?”

Suddenly, a pair of slightly chapped lips were pressed against his. Kaneki was...kissing him. Hide blinked in shock but Kaneki pulled away before he could fully enjoy it.. 

“Um…” Kaneki sat up on his knees, holding his collected pieces of glasses in his hands. “That was for last night. For the, um, kiss on the cheek. I…” Kaneki fell silent for a second. “S-Sorry if that was too much.”

Hide looked at him, smiling. Kaneki was simply too cute. He leaned in quickly to return the quick kiss. “It’s...It’s fine. I like it. Thank you.” 

They both eventually got to their feet. Hide enjoyed the small amount of warmth that came from being close to Kaneki like he was. They both stood there, smiling at each other for a bit longer. 

A loud knocking of the cafe’s window broke them from their trance, they both turned to look at who was knocking there. 

“Do you...know him?”

There, waving in the window, was Seidou. 

 

* * * 

 

Kaneki was the one who handled clean up, taking Hide’s share of the broken glass to throw it away. Meanwhile, Hide talked to Akira and Seidou outside since talking through a window wasn’t exactly formal. 

“Glad we found you when we did, Hide. We could make this a double date.” Seidou said with a smile. Hide blinked. A double date? For real?

“I hope we didn’t interrupt anything, Nagachika. You both looked like you were having...a moment.” Akira interrupted him. Hide blushed. How long exactly had they been there?

“I, uh…” He was drawing a blank on what exactly to say. “Y-You weren’t interrupting anything, of course! But a double date, I’d have to ask Kaneki…”

“Kaneki…” Akira mumbled his name under her breath as if she had recognized it from somewhere. Hide was about to ask her if she knew him but the man of the hour had finally come back, locking the door behind him. 

“Ah, hello.” Kaneki greeted them with a polite bow. “You must be Hide’s co-workers.” 

“Mm. We are.” Akira said, her gaze piercing which Hide knew meant that she was analyzing him. 

“And you must be the date.” Seidou sized him up for a second and Kaneki seemed to stiffen up for a second. “You’re not dangerous, are you?” 

Hide scratched his cheek. He hadn’t told them that Kaneki was a ghoul. Unless he was just asking if Kaneki was dangerous in general? “When did you become dad? You know that’s Amon’s job.” Hide said jokingly in hope to distract from Kaneki now holding - no - squeezing his hand. Seidou seemed to get flustered by his comment, looking away.

“I can be just as worried as that guy, you know.”

Hide chuckled lightly and patted Seidou on the shoulder. “Yeah, yeah. Though I think you’re more like the possessive little brother.”

“W-What? I’m taller than you!” Seidou argued. 

“By half an inch.” Hide replied.

“That still counts!” 

“Careful, Nagachika.” Akira interrupted both of them to peer over his shoulder. “He won’t invite you to karaoke.” 

“Karaoke?” Hide asked. “Is that where you’re going?” 

“Mhm.” Akira nodded. “Did you want to come along?”

Hide looked towards Kaneki as if to silently ask. Kaneki looked back at him to ask the same silent question. Hide looked back towards the both of them and smiled brightly. 

“We’d love to!”

 

* * *

 

The karaoke bar wasn’t too big in size and seemed just about empty if it weren't for the few people lounging at the bar. “Let’s sit over there. It’s close to the machine.” Akira said, pointing to one of the couches that looked quite aged. 

Seidou asked if they wanted any drinks but the two of them declined with the excuse that they were full from cafe food. It was casual conversation between the four of them, Hide reciting the events of their first date and Kaneki blushing whenever Hide called him a hero. Akira began talking about how her date with Seidou had gone so far. All the while, Hide was giving his brown haired co-worker certain looks since Akira had indeed called it a “date”. Turns out Seidou ended up needing to get a new jacket on the way to the karaoke bar because he ended up trying too hard to impress Akira by putting his jacket in a puddle for her.

“Jeez, Seidou. You’re such a nerd.” Hide said teasingly. Seidou slammed his fist on the table. 

“That’s it, Nagachika. I challenge you to a karaoke battle. You. Me. Duet. Person with the highest score is the winner _and_  does whatever the person says for a whole week.” Seidou’s cheeks were slightly flushed as he said this and Hide wondered if either he was embarrassed or a real lightweight. 

“Alright then. You’re on.” Hide smirked. “Cheer me on, ‘neki.” He gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before he raced Seidou over to the machine so he could be the one to choose the song. After some pushing and shoving, Hide was victorious in being able to choose a song that both of them knew. 

“Why’d you put it on hard?!” Seidou asked.

“Just be glad I chose a song we both knew.” Hide winked, picking up one of the microphones. Seidou glared at him before he picked up the twin one, both of them waiting for the song lyrics to officially start. Hide took the time to glance over at Kaneki and Akira. They both seemed to be deep in conversation. It didn’t seem particularly hostile. She was probably just questioning him to make sure Kaneki was up to her standards. 

When the lyrics came up on the screen, Hide and Seidou began to sing.

After the song had ended, He ended up beating Seidou in their little competition but promised him he wouldn’t actually make him do whatever he wanted. He then went over to the table and took Kaneki's hand. "Come on. I challenge you." 

Kaneki blinked. "I'm not too good at singing..." 

"It's fine! Me neither. Now let's go! We can sing _24 Hour Cinderella_." He said, gently pulling on Kaneki's arm over to the machine. 

"Why can't we sing _Unravel_ instead...?"

 

* * *

 

Karaoke with Akira and Seidou was pretty fun. It was amusing to deal with a slightly tipsy Akira and a completely drunk Seidou. Singing with them was even more fun. They all took turns singing duets with each other. Singing some pop song with Kaneki the second time around was probably the funniest thing he’d ever done, having lost twice for messing up the lyrics too much by laughing. 

It was Hide who had to call for the end of the night. Kaneki and Hide both agreed that they’d walk Akira and Seidou to his apartment since it would kill three birds with one stone. The two of them just talked though Hide pretended not to be disappointed that he couldn’t cuddle up to Kaneki since he was holding onto Seidou to make sure he didn’t fall and Kaneki doing the same to Akira.

Hide unlocked the door and shouted to Kimi inside to get the pull out couch ready. They both helped them inside, laying them down on the couch while Kimi watched on. Hide pulled a blanket on the sleeping lovebirds and resisted the urge to take a photo.

“This was fun.” Hide looked towards Kaneki with a smile. “Thanks for helping them inside. They’re probably going to be miserable in the morning. One more than the other…”

“It was no problem. Your co-workers are very fun people, you know? I’m glad I got to meet them.” They both looked at each other for a few silent seconds before they both started to snicker. 

“You two look cute.”

Oh, right! Kimi was still there! Hide whirled around and looked at her. “You’re home early.”

Kimi shrugged and leaned against the wall. “Sorry if I interrupted any of your plans…” She gave Hide a quick wink. “Nishiki was busy tonight.”

Hide let out a small sigh, ignoring her embarrassing implication, before looking back to Kaneki. "Thank you again. Text me when you get home, okay?" 

"I will. Tonight was fun." Kaneki said. Hide smiled and the two of them exchanged a hurried kiss. Hide watched as Kaneki left the apartment before he turned his attention back to Kimi. She only smiled. 

"You and Kaneki really are cute." Kimi said once more. Hide looked at her and was about to crack a joke when he realized something. 

"Oh, wait-- How'd you know his name? I never gave it to you, did I?" 

Kimi said nothing and instead just walked away with a mischievous smile on her face. Hide quickly ran after her. She better not have gone through his phone!


End file.
